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Renting gone wrong/where we stand?
cpnmlw
Posts: 16 Forumite
Hi i wander if anyone can help me. We are wandering if we have a leg to stand on in regards to compensation or taking this further.
My partner, 2 children and I moved into the address on 17/12/14. Upon commencing the tenancy, everything seemed OK with the house, but over the course of a few weeks, up to present day, we started to have issues with various parts of the house (even though the inventory claimed the house was mainly good or very good condition).
The first problem was with the gas boiler. On the ........... we suddenly found ourselves without hot water or central heating. We rang the estate agents and they said the engineer would be able to look at it but not straight away as they were extremely busy. Therefore we were without hot water or heating over night with just one small electric heater between us.
On the ......... the engineer diagnosed that the boiler required a new printed circuit board, but that the part would need to be ordered so the fault could not be fixed right away (so again we were without hot water and heating in the middle of winter).
On the .........the part was fitted and the issue was, we thought, resolved. However, since then the boiler failed again on the .......... and required an engineer once more. Please make note that the boiler was listed as "good" on the inventory. With 2 children under the aged of 3 and considering the time of year this was highly frustrating and inconvenient to say the least.
Separate to all of this, we have also had a serious issue with the garage. The garage was part of the tenancy, therefore we were eligible to store our items in there (again, the garage was also listed as "good" on the inventory). On the ............. we noticed a leak from the far left corner of the roof. It was clearly not a problem of a blocked drain as it was coming through the "slats" of the wood. Upon raising this with the estate agent, they told us that the Landlord suggested cleaning out the filter on the drain on the exterior of the garage roof. We did this but, unsurprisingly, it did not fix the issue.
At this point, with it being December and frequent snow or rain storms, we were finding a large amount of water gathering in the garage, making it highly unsuitable for storage. We have found ourselves collecting the water in a large bucket and having to empty every so often and move our belongings as far away from the standing water as possible.
The landlord had declared that "the garage is 30 years old" and that he was unwilling to repair it. To say that the rent is a substantial amount at £700 pcm and that the garage WAS included in the tenancy, we found the landlord's attitude regarding the issue was unacceptable. About a week later, after we submitted photo and video evidence of the extent of the problem, the landlord THEN decided to ask a contractor to come round to investigate and provide a quote to fix the issue. I am assuming no further action will be taken to repair the roof as we never heard back from the estate agent or
contractor,which i might add confirmed that a felt piece was botched in the corner where the leak is and not nailed in correctly with no sealant. (Please note there is an electricity supply to the garage so it is potentially highly dangerous where the water is dripping near the wiring).
Aside from these 2 main issues, we also have noticed hairline cracks appearing in the kitchen and bathroom walls and the other day a substantial crack in the artex ceiling in the lounge which again had been botched and painted over upon inspection. None of which the Landlord seems to want to pay attention to either.
The landlord requested a member of the estate agents come and conduct an inspection on .......... and when the gentleman finished, he mentioned to us that due to the amount of issues we had encountered that the Landlord was willing to release us from the tenancy early (we were contracted up to the 16th June 2015). We accepted this as we feel we cannot continue in this house and be happy and, most importantly, safe.
We feel incredibly put out, let down and appalled about the whole thing. Having paid almost £400 in estate agency fees, a large deposit of £969 and £700 pcm in rent, we expected so much more from our stay here and better communication and understanding. We have all of the emails, photos and videos documented to back up our case and hope that you can help discuss this further to see where we stand with it all.
Is there any possible chance of taking this further/small claims etc??? The landlord will not speak to me and will not agree to compensation. The boiler has a digital display missing still and the estate agency are managing the property (badly) on behalf of the landlord.
My partner, 2 children and I moved into the address on 17/12/14. Upon commencing the tenancy, everything seemed OK with the house, but over the course of a few weeks, up to present day, we started to have issues with various parts of the house (even though the inventory claimed the house was mainly good or very good condition).
The first problem was with the gas boiler. On the ........... we suddenly found ourselves without hot water or central heating. We rang the estate agents and they said the engineer would be able to look at it but not straight away as they were extremely busy. Therefore we were without hot water or heating over night with just one small electric heater between us.
On the ......... the engineer diagnosed that the boiler required a new printed circuit board, but that the part would need to be ordered so the fault could not be fixed right away (so again we were without hot water and heating in the middle of winter).
On the .........the part was fitted and the issue was, we thought, resolved. However, since then the boiler failed again on the .......... and required an engineer once more. Please make note that the boiler was listed as "good" on the inventory. With 2 children under the aged of 3 and considering the time of year this was highly frustrating and inconvenient to say the least.
Separate to all of this, we have also had a serious issue with the garage. The garage was part of the tenancy, therefore we were eligible to store our items in there (again, the garage was also listed as "good" on the inventory). On the ............. we noticed a leak from the far left corner of the roof. It was clearly not a problem of a blocked drain as it was coming through the "slats" of the wood. Upon raising this with the estate agent, they told us that the Landlord suggested cleaning out the filter on the drain on the exterior of the garage roof. We did this but, unsurprisingly, it did not fix the issue.
At this point, with it being December and frequent snow or rain storms, we were finding a large amount of water gathering in the garage, making it highly unsuitable for storage. We have found ourselves collecting the water in a large bucket and having to empty every so often and move our belongings as far away from the standing water as possible.
The landlord had declared that "the garage is 30 years old" and that he was unwilling to repair it. To say that the rent is a substantial amount at £700 pcm and that the garage WAS included in the tenancy, we found the landlord's attitude regarding the issue was unacceptable. About a week later, after we submitted photo and video evidence of the extent of the problem, the landlord THEN decided to ask a contractor to come round to investigate and provide a quote to fix the issue. I am assuming no further action will be taken to repair the roof as we never heard back from the estate agent or
contractor,which i might add confirmed that a felt piece was botched in the corner where the leak is and not nailed in correctly with no sealant. (Please note there is an electricity supply to the garage so it is potentially highly dangerous where the water is dripping near the wiring).
Aside from these 2 main issues, we also have noticed hairline cracks appearing in the kitchen and bathroom walls and the other day a substantial crack in the artex ceiling in the lounge which again had been botched and painted over upon inspection. None of which the Landlord seems to want to pay attention to either.
The landlord requested a member of the estate agents come and conduct an inspection on .......... and when the gentleman finished, he mentioned to us that due to the amount of issues we had encountered that the Landlord was willing to release us from the tenancy early (we were contracted up to the 16th June 2015). We accepted this as we feel we cannot continue in this house and be happy and, most importantly, safe.
We feel incredibly put out, let down and appalled about the whole thing. Having paid almost £400 in estate agency fees, a large deposit of £969 and £700 pcm in rent, we expected so much more from our stay here and better communication and understanding. We have all of the emails, photos and videos documented to back up our case and hope that you can help discuss this further to see where we stand with it all.
Is there any possible chance of taking this further/small claims etc??? The landlord will not speak to me and will not agree to compensation. The boiler has a digital display missing still and the estate agency are managing the property (badly) on behalf of the landlord.
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Comments
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I have to say those problems sound relatively minor compared to some of the issues people on this board have encountered when renting. How long were you without heating and hot water for in total? did you still have an electric shower you could use?
The cracks in the walls are likely just cosmetic and although the garage might be unsuitable for storage it is presumable still fine for storing a car in.
It's not fair but I would be grateful the Landlord has agreed to an early surrender of the tenancy and focus your energy on finding somewhere new, if I were you.0 -
Boilers fail...it happens. Your LL sounds like he is doing something about it as an engineers has been out to inspect the boiler and has ordered a new part. It just has to be fixed within a reasonable timescale. What's reasonable I hear you cry? Well if you were an owner occupier, would you be able to get it fixed any faster? In this case probably not. Your LL should supply you with an alternative form of heating such as convection or fan heaters, if he hasn't ask for some.
As for the garage, if it forms part of the property you are renting then it shouldn't have a leak in the roof and in my opinion that should be repaired.
See Shelter's guide to What to do if your LL refused to do repairs. (Assuming you're in England or Wales).
As it stands you don't have anything that you could take the LL to small claims court for so if you tried to, you would just be landed with court costs.0 -
I agree, you sound pretty unrealistic in your expectations. You'd have a shock.
Boiler - LL has a duty to repair in a reasonable amount of time, and to supply an alternative source of hot water and heating in an emergency (large kettle and electric heater would be fine, temporarily).
'Reasonable amount of time' basically means what it would take if you were a homeowner, not that the fix goes instantly and perfectly smoothly.
Garage Roof - I can understand this is annoying. The LL does have a duty to repair. Read the guide below to understand how you can enforce that. (And google Lee Parker vs. Izzet 1971)
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/repairs_in_private_lets
Cracks - anything hairline is merely cosmetic and not an issue. I would imagine very few people live in properties without hairline cracks. Larger cracks might be an issue if they go beyond cosmetic, reply would be as per the garage above. But this doesn't sounds like a particularly serious issue.0 -
fairy_lights wrote: »I have to say those problems sound relatively minor compared to some of the issues people on this board have encountered when renting. How long were you without heating and hot water for in total? did you still have an electric shower you could use?
The cracks in the walls are likely just cosmetic and although the garage might be unsuitable for storage it is presumable still fine for storing a car in.
It's not fair but I would be grateful the Landlord has agreed to an early surrender of the tenancy and focus your energy on finding somewhere new, if I were you.
Thanks for the response, we have found somewhere else.
Yes they may seem minor but because i've been in contact with the agency every week about something wrong with the house they've added up.
The garage isn't fit to store anything in it due to leakage through wood panels at the back and the roofing contractor confirmed it needed a new roof.
My point is is that the landlord must have known about said issues prior to leasing the house.
The boiler is temperamental, the inventory stated "appliances not checked" and the garage is off limits. But one of the reasons we went for the house was for the garage.
Would we not be able reclaim the admin agency fees due to having to come out of the lease early? if we can't seek compensation from the landlord. End of the day all i want is for the house to be right "as described" that's what i'm paying for, and at the moment is not fit for purpose.0 -
No because the letting agency did the admin.0
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princeofpounds wrote: »I agree, you sound pretty unrealistic in your expectations. You'd have a shock.
Boiler - LL has a duty to repair in a reasonable amount of time, and to supply an alternative source of hot water and heating in an emergency (large kettle and electric heater would be fine, temporarily).
'Reasonable amount of time' basically means what it would take if you were a homeowner, not that the fix goes instantly and perfectly smoothly.
Garage Roof - I can understand this is annoying. The LL does have a duty to repair. Read the guide below to understand how you can enforce that. (And google Lee Parker vs. Izzet 1971)
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/repairs_in_private_lets
Cracks - anything hairline is merely cosmetic and not an issue. I would imagine very few people live in properties without hairline cracks. Larger cracks might be an issue if they go beyond cosmetic, reply would be as per the garage above. But this doesn't sounds like a particularly serious issue.
Cheers for the response, we still have an ongoing problem with the boiler. It is temperamental. Granted an engineer has been out numerous times and confirmed there was a fault but couldn't diagnose it. He admitted that ideally we needed a new boiler but the landlord paid for a circuit board instead. And we still have issues.
Ye i had cracks in my previous house i just sold, but they have been covered up. Much like the garage bodge job.
We are leaving mid march so he's not going to repair now is he?
Also on another note in my experience i would not rent my house out through an agency. They send an electrician out to a property for example a fuse has blown in a plug but goes back and tells the agency that the whole house needs rewiring and the landlord pays for it unbeknownst to him.0 -
The LL may well have known that the garage roof leaked prior to your tenancy starting...but he is not to know that you wish to use the space for storage of possible perishable items....a garage in my opinion as a LL would be best used for the storage of a car...however if you choose to use the garage as something other than its primary design then you do so at your own risk.frugal October...£41.82 of £40 food shopping spend for the 2 of us!
2017 toiletries challenge 179 out 145 in ...£18.64 spend0 -
Never rented before so unsure on what to put up with or how to go about it. I can see us back on the mortgage ladder sooner rather than later. We were only renting temporarily to gauge the area we wanted to commit to.0
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OP I feel your pain. You have not got what you expected, the LL has agreed to release you from the tenancy and if you feel badly let down I would suggest you do move.
From a LLs point of view, I have properties with garages and do not include the garages in the let. tenants always seem to believe that they can store precious items in cold damp garages when actually they are designed for cars and gardening equipment. If you need warm dry storage you should rent a storage area.
The boiler is annoying and I would be asking for extra heating equipment to be supplied. I always ensure my rentals have an electric shower as well as a combi boiler so hot water wit her by bath or shower is always available. It sounds like your LL is trying to sort this out, perhaps give him time.
Hair line cracks often occur after decorating, most homes, mine included have some cracks, could you ask for them to be filled and painted. Document them and keep pictures.
I am interested where in the country you are renting your home for £700 per month, you would not get a studio in some areas for that amount. You say this is your first rental, where did you live before?
Good luck, move out and move on!0 -
Would we not be able reclaim the admin agency fees due to having to come out of the lease early? if we can't seek compensation from the landlord. End of the day all i want is for the house to be right "as described" that's what i'm paying for, and at the moment is not fit for purpose.
did you ask to be released from the lease early...if yes then you made that decision and wouldnt be able to claim the fees back.
so you are now saying that the house is not fit for purpose because it has a tempremental boiler that seems a very strong phrasing when you consider that other forms of heating are still available to you by means of electric heaters and boiling water....its just your preferred method of heating is not readily available.
Your deposit will I ssume be returned to you when you leave and you have paid rent for the time you have lived in the property...may I ask just what level of compensation you were thinking of achieving in respect of your time renting the house ?
As a LL myself I would be interested to know what value you put on your inconvienience.
I have always tried to sort problems in association with my LA in a timely manner but sometimes the availability of parts etc is not something I have a control over.
As others have said...a hairline crack is just that ....my newly renovated property developed a few within weeks of being newly plastered,its just a case of fill and paintfrugal October...£41.82 of £40 food shopping spend for the 2 of us!
2017 toiletries challenge 179 out 145 in ...£18.64 spend0
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